Emphasis on DEFENSE
by Zantetsuken Reverse
Summary: Dumbledore recruits Dark Mages (or Shamans or Druids or whatever) as DADA professors. Hilarity ensues.


I really couldn't resist. Please ignore the fact that Raigh and Canas are both alive at this point and that Niime knows Raigh. I haven't played some of these games, so sorry about OOC. Also, I only include dedicated Dark Magic users. That includes characters who can use other magic types but primarily use Dark (Salem, Tharja, Henry) but excludes endgame characters who can use all magic types (Athos). This also excludes characters who can reclass into Dark Mages (Miriel, Libra).

Note for me and you: The structure of the story is simple. The first chapters each have a mage's interview, the teachers discussing them, and anyone with objections voicing them privately with Dumbledore. All the interviews take place consecutively in the story itself but the chapters just focus on one at a time. Then, there will be a staff meeting with everyone. Then there's a secret chapter, and then the person who gets the job is chosen. After that, there's how the year would go with that teacher instead of Umbridge. Then there's the hypothetical scenario where everyone else was the teacher. And then how any of them would impact the year had they been in any of the other years.

Emphasis on DEFENSE

After the untimely resurrection of Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore decided that it was time to teach the students of Hogwarts some more about Dark magic. Not how to do it, but what it could do to a person. This, unfortunately, required an actual expert in Dark magic, not just a researcher. Seeing as Dark magic was illegal, Dumbledore had no choice but to find people from places where it was not exactly illegal. Many applications, resumes, death threats, and flyers later, Dumbledore had finally found several experts in the use of Dark magic with spotless records. Well, mostly spotless. Does it count as spotless if you get pardoned?

Anyway, a group of people who were able to use Dark magic were currently loitering outside of Dumbledore's office. Salem and Canas were having a discussion about the political differences between their two continents while Raigh was staring at the portraits. Knoll was expressing his worries to another prince who had let darkness inside of him, while Pelleas was trying to reassure him that Spirit Charming did not (usually) result in the charmer being possessed. Niime was having a quiet argument with Tharja about 'the true nature of the darkness' as Henry and Sophia shared their opinions on mortality.

Soon after this arrangement had composed itself, Professor McGonagall stepped out of the Headmaster's office. "Salem?" she called, as the former Dark Priest looked up. "Come in."

Canas looked rather disappointed as Salem climbed the steps to the Headmaster's office, but his disappointment was quickly alleviated by an intense discussion with Raigh and his mother about the nature of time travel.

In his office, Professor Dumbledore looked at the man in front of him, and then at the documents in front of him. "Would you like a lemon drop?"

Salem accepted it, and then spent some time trying to get it off of his fingers.

"Your name is… Salem?"

Salem humorlessly replied, "Yes." Perhaps that would have sounded a bit more intimidating had he not had sticky sugar all over his hands.

"I believe that you might find it interesting that you share your name with a school for witches on another continent. It is called Salem Witches Institute."

Salem stopped trying to get the candy off of his hands. "What?"

"I would imagine that if you do become a professor, then you would have to explain to the students that you are not related to the town."

Salem blinked. "You… have you…?"

"Read your credentials? Yes." Dumbledore unstuck a lemon drop from the tin. "I suggest sucking on your fingers."

Salem surreptitiously attempted to lick the sugar off of his hands and retain his dignity at the same time. "How much… do you know?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "Well, mostly everything. Your time in the King of Lenster's Liberation army, your time as a healer in Northern Thracia [1], and your time in the Loptyr Sect."

Salem looked down. Dumbledore smiled. "You don't have to worry," he said lightly. "The Sect tried to execute you, and you fought against them. That is enough to prove that you are no longer affiliated with them."

Salem looked up. "So… you do not mind? Someone like me teaching?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "Our last teachers did not have your background, but attempted to murder some of the students. I believe that you should be fine. Given that you know your subject, of course."

Salem first looked shocked, then relieved, and then said, "I believe that I can teach. I understand that you want to teach the effects of Dark magic and not how to use it, correct?"

"That is the idea, yes."

Salem took in a deep breath. "Now then… if anyone finds out that I am a former member of the Sect, I will be executed. So I request that you do not tell anybody."

"Even the teachers?"

"Especially the teachers."

"I thought that you told the other members of the Liberation army."

"The Liberation army included pirates, thieves, renegade nobles and knights, bandits, and murderers. Our leader was younger than about a quarter of your students. We needed all the help we could get. We even had to kidnap people to get them to join. A former Loptyr Priest was not worthy of attention."

"… Very well." Dumbledore looked at his notes. "Now, how much do you know about Dark magic?"

The rest of the interview consisted of Dumbledore testing Salem on his knowledge of Dark magic, which Salem passed with flying colors. As there were no real problems with Salem's record other than the Loptyr priest part, and Salem knew what he was doing, Dumbledore decided to put his name on the list. After all, he _had_ allowed Lockhart into the school, so standards were pretty low.

And that was what Dumbledore told the other professors about Salem at the next staff meeting. "So," said Professor McGonagall. "He knows what he's doing, knows not to teach the students how to use Dark magic, has promised not to use any sort of magic on the students, and has no apparent personality problems."

"Well, that's more than what we can say about most of the past professors," said Madam Pomfrey. "I thought that we had seen the worst after Professor Jenkins."

"Who would have thought that he would have gotten the entire student body to charge through the Forbidden Forest to attack a stray troll?" sighed Flitwick.

All in all, no one had any real objections. Except for Snape.

"Albus, he's a Death Eater." Snape had cornered Dumbledore right after all the other professors had gone back to their rooms.

"No."

Snape sighed. "You're doing that again. You never give me a straight answer. So, has he, or has he ever been, involved with the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters in any way, shape or form?"

"No."

Snape sighed an even deeper sigh. "You don't lie, you just omit. Albus, you have picked up several experienced Dark wizards-"

"They prefer to be called Dark Mages. Or Shamans. Or Druids. That other young man insisted on being called a practitioner of Elder Magic."

"-That doesn't matter. You expect me to believe that there is a sane, rational, and boring person who can use Dark magic for no reason? Albus, you gave a reason for _everyone_ except for him. Even the boy."

Dumbledore sighed. "Severus, promise that you will tell no one of this."

Snape scowled, but said, "I promise."

"Salem was formerly a priest in a religion that sacrificed children."

Ten seconds later, Snape's expression unfroze. "This is not the first time I have wondered this, but ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Dumbledore looked away. "You are a former Death Eater."

"I am also part of your plan," said Snape curtly. "You have absolutely no reason to employ a potentially dangerous person who has no relevance to your plan or the Dark Lord's."

Dumbledore stretched. "I did not hire you simply for your connections to Voldemort, Severus. And I believe that this man has done enough to prove that he would not go back." [2]

Snape opened his mouth, and then closed it. "When the parents find out, it will be your back against the wall."

Dumbledore considered this. "If that is the case, then finding a new teacher will be harder than I thought."

Snape sighed. "Right now, a boring former cultist would be preferable to some of the others…"

TO BE CONTINUED

Yeah… Salem's a bit boring. I like him, it's just that no one before 6 who isn't a main character talks much. No Support, so… There will be more talking in the next ones!

[1] Salem as a healer- his ending states that he retired to a rural village after the war. Since his strength stat is fairly low, I thought he'd be a healer rather than a farmer.

[2] Dumbledore on Salem- "I did not hire you simply for your connections to Voldemort"- He's saying that Snape is also an excellent Potions teacher. "This man has done enough to prove that he would not go back"- Dumbledore has read everyone's resume, so he knows that Salem had risked his life to fight against the Sect. I just couldn't write Dumbledore explaining something in a straightforward manner.

Leif is 15 years old in Thracia 776. I calculated that more than a quarter of the student population is older than he is. I don't have exact numbers, but I assume that the age range is from 10 to 18, rather than 11 and 17, due to varying birthdays. The range from 16 to 18 is older than Leif, and that's one quarter of the student population, if box and whisker plots are correct. It's actually more than a quarter since if you count the fact that Leif is 'almost 15' at the start of the game, so a lot of 15 year olds would be older. Of course, only those close to him (the ones who know his birthday) would actually know that; Salem doesn't know that, so he says a quarter rather than over a quarter.

Quirrel didn't really seem to be a bad teacher. Besides the whole Voldemort thing, no one complained about his classes. Lockhart was the only really incompetent teacher before Umbridge.

I got the feeling that Tharja isn't as dark and gloomy as she says she is. She's not exactly acting or pretending, but she seems to have an image of herself of a fierce Dark Mage that she holds herself up to. I also get the feeling that Niime would not approve of this, and would treat Tharja like a goth wannabe.

Come to think of it, Salem is the Dark mage with the darkest past. A really dark one, I mean, that could get him arrested or something. Other than murder, since that's part of the game. Raigh is an orphan who wanted to learn magic, Niime and Sofia's pasts aren't elaborated, Canas is a scholar, Pelleas is a lucky (or unlucky) orphan, and Tharja appears to be an ordinary (but morbid) foot soldier. Knoll aided Lyon and he regretted it, but his main crimes were research (it did result in Fomortiis coming back, but that wasn't the intention). Henry had a pretty gloomy past; his only friend got killed and he killed her attackers. That is pretty dark, but he can't really be arrested or lynched for it, since he was only a kid at the time. Salem was a member of a cult that kidnapped and sacrificed children.


End file.
